Cntury Village Considers Forming City

Leaders of the Century Village Development west of West Palm Beach are considering incorporating the 15,000-resident development as a city.

Members of a committee have been contacting political leaders of several cities, including Atlantis, Greenacres City and Royal Palm Beach.

They have asked for information about how a community transforms itself into a chartered city and what problems are involved.

They have contacted state Rep. Eleanor Weinstock, D-West Palm Beach, about how to incorporate.

Weinstock`s district includes most of Century Village. A small portion on the north end falls into the district of Rep. James Watt, R-Lake Park.

``One issue to be considered,`` Weinstock said Thursday, ``is that with its large population, this is one way Century Village could obtain self-government and have an orderly procedure to give themselves some real advantages that come with being a separate municipality.``

``There has been a lot of talk and discussion out here about the advantages of creating a separate city for the 15,000 people here in Century Village,`` said Philip Sokol, former president of the United Civic Organization -- a citizens` group comprised of representatives from Century Village`s many individual associations.

``We are a very big community, and we have had major problems with transportation and security.`` Sokol said.

If UCO wants to arrange for some service the residents need and want, such as bus transportation or internal and external security patrols, UCO leaders must seek funding from people on a voluntary basis, Sokol said.

``To get all the money we needed for the bus system -- which takes our residents to and from the mall, the grocery stores or the doctor every half hour -- we had to get a court order to force many people to pay ($5 a month),`` Sokol explained.

Everyone must now pay $5 per month for this program, he said.

``People want services, but when you tell them they have to pay, they often have a difficult time facing up to that fact,`` Sokol said.

He stressed, however, that at the moment, the effort is strictly exploratory.

The committee was formed about a month ago and is expected to report back to the UCO board within the next two months, Sokol explained.

``We just want to get the facts right now,`` he said.

Eventually, if it becomes a city, Century Village would gain control over other areas, including water and sewer service, one resident explained.

UCO President Bill Snyder could not be reached Thursday afternoon for comment. Neither could Morton Baron, chairman of the committee investigating the feasibility of incorporation.

The development is in an unincorporated area. Century Village residents must compete for the County Commission`s attention with hundreds of other developments.

Weinstock said if Century Village residents decide, through a vote, that they want to incorporate and they draw up a charter, it would go to the Florida Legislature.

In that case, the views of Century Village`s state lawmakers on the local proposal probably would prevail in Tallahassee, she explained.

Former Greenacres Mayor James Quigley was to meet Thursday afternoon with Max Harlem, a member of the special Century Village fact-finding committee.

And Royal Palm Beach Vice Mayor Nathan Crandall said some Century Village leaders recently spoke to him and Mayor Sam Lamstein.

``We told them how we went about it, and we pointed out the difference in our situations. We began with about 65 percent of our land undeveloped, so our priority has been in growth management. They, on the other hand, are fully developed, and their problems would be different,`` Crandall said.